Frozen Tears Cease To Fall (Discontinued)
by Aiko-love-Anime
Summary: The tale of Toshiro Histugaya. His life in the world of the living, his after life, how he met Momo and why he became a captain. However, things are not so simple. Momo may just be a girl Toshiro once knew... What shall happen when he remembers his past?
1. Chapter 1

Hey! So I'm new to fanfic, and got some inspiration for the HistugayaXHinamori pairing. So i decided to write my own. This really just a rough first chapter to see if it interests anyone. If anybody's interested, comment and i'll rewrite it and continue. ~Thanks, Aiko-love-Anime.

**I DO NOT OWN BLEACH!**

Chapter 1: Thin Ice

I wasn't always like this, frozen and cold. In my past life, I was a crybaby. Yeah, I remember I cried uncontrolably after my father died...

xxx

I liked the snow.

I don't remember where I lived, but there was always snow.

And ice.

But neither ice nor snow killed my father. No, that was _fire._

Our only neighbors had a house fire and their daughter got caught inside. My father ran in to save her, a moment before the house collapse in on them in a pile of hellish flames.

I was close to my father, as are many young children, I love and respected him. And just like that... he was gone.

And it was _her_ fault, the neighbor girl's. Who's name I could not remember, who's face I had forgotten. It was _her_ fault. All _her_ fault.

xxx

I went to my first funeral that week. My first...and last. Was it a cruel twist of fate that it had to be own father's?

I cried that day. And for all the days after.

Constantly, continually, I cried.

All through the day and all through the night. I was hospitalized twice in one month for dehydration.

I would sit on my porch and cry so long and hard that my tears would cool and freeze down my cheeks and eventually form icicles at my chin.

I was five and half years old when my father died, and three months later I permenantly lost my voice.

I still continued to cry, silently now, but I still cried. All through the days and late into the nights.

Like my tears, time silently crept passed me. Minutes blurred into hours, and hours blurred into days, and days into weeks, and weeks into months.

Before I knew it, six months had gone by. Winter had come, I remember the snow began to fall heavily again.

This day was like any other winter day, cold and foggy. My mother looked at me in my silent tears, and sat down beside me. She wrapped her arms

around my small body and hugged me gingerly. I could tell she was hurting, not so much for my father anymore, but for me.

"Let's go for a nice long car ride, today." she said, in her gentle, comforting voice.

I picked up the pencil and pad of paper I used to communicate with and wrote:

_But it's very foggy._

"Doesn't matter," she said "today is special and I want you to enjoy it." She picked me up and sat me on her lap.

I looked into her saddened eyes. I didn't know why today was speacial, I had lost track of time, or rather it had lost track of me. But, I did not protest, she had lost my father aswell, and with all the grief I'd given her, it was the least I could do to mak her happy. I agreed to a nice car ride.

We got in the car, me sitting directly behind the driver's seat, so I could be as close to my mother as possible, and we left.

The fog only got thicker, the longer we drove.

Soon we couldn't even see where we were going.

And neither could the logger truck in the other lane.

He didn't realize he had crossed into our lane.

Mom swerved.

Closer.

Closer...

Impact.

The sound of shattering glass and crushing metal echoed in my ears. I could hear my mother screaming. I must have shut my eyes, for I can't remember the sights that had taken place. I could only remember the dark.

The dark.

_Have I always been in the dark?_

My body was numb, my mind blank. I only felt a cool sensation on my face. It was nice. Like snow.

"-shiro!" I heared. _Is it just my mind playing tricks on me?_

I was dead. I knew I was dead.

"Toshiro!" It called again. It was getting closer, louder. I knew who it was.

"Toshiro!" My mother was calling me back. She was still alive. And her voice was pulling me back.

My eyes opened. My mother was holding me in her arms, but I could no longer feel her imbrace. Nor could I feel the wounds enflicted on my body, that surely had killed me. All this I noticed in a moment. I did not have much time left.

I could feel myself slipping away again, back into the darkness. With great difficulty I lifted my numbed hand to her face.

_I love you._ I mouthed. With all of my final strenght I tried to speak, but I could not.

_Goodbye._

And I passed away.

Six months after my father, on December 20th.

It was my birthday.

The last image of my life I had was my hand on my mother's crying face. Her saddened eyes had lost all hope, and reflecting only my bloody, tear-stained face. It was snowing that day.

I like the snow.

-Aiko-love-Anime speaks-

Hope you liked! If you did review and I'll write the rest! ~Thanks a lot for reading, Aiko-love-Anime.


	2. Chapter 2 A Life After This

A couple seem interested in my story, so as promised, I'm going to write the rest. Thanks for the support. ~ Aiko-love-Anime.

Chapter 2- A Life After This

I was in the dark again, no maybe I was blind.

Either way all I could see was black.

My sense of touch was gone.

As well as my hearing, smell, and taste.

I can not say how long I drifted in the dark, whether it was but a moment or a hundred years, I had no way of knowing. My sense of time had all but failed me. But none of it mattered.

I was at peace.

A peace so calm and comfortable, I could not help but like drifting there in the dark.

Is this the peace they say comes with death?

I lingered in this place, but felt that it was not the final place, no there was something beyond this still.

A path formed before me. I was no longer drifting, but standing on it.

_ Should I follow or remain?_

This place promised eternal peace, but this path lead to the final destination. Whether heaven or hell, that was where I needed to go, where I was supposed to go. But did I want to? Had I any reason to move on? Had I not? was someone waiting for me on the other side?

I could not remember. My memories of my past life were gone, they had abandoned me in death, and I had forgotten. With out anyone or anything to sway my judgement, the choice was entirely mine.

I took a step forward. It was pulling me, the other side. It was gently tugging at me as if it were saying, "you can come, if you want." It was warm, my senses were slowly returning.

I began to walk. The path got brighter and brighter. I continued to walk and walk and walk. I knew not how long I walked, but I never got tired, never needed to stop and rest. I kept walking.

The light soon surrounded me. And I was suddenly standing in a line. A long line of people._ Are they awaiting judgement?_

The line shifted forward, and slowly I moved to the front. Closer to whatever it was that was awaiting me. I found myself standing in front of a man with a paper.

"Toshiro Hitsugaya, Date of Death: December 20th, xxxx." he spoke smoothly, with a deep voice. "Cause of Death: car crash, Age at time of Death: 6." His tone was heartless, and cold. He had done this a million times before.

Tears began to stream down my cheeks. It felt familiar somehow. And I remembered.

Memories flashed passed my eyes. Dozens of memories of my self crying rushed by: the time my tears froze to my cheeks, the time I was in the hospital for crying too much, the day I lost my voice forever, and the day I died reflected in my mother's defeated eyes.

I gasped..._I_ gasped?

"Oh," said the man, surprised, "it says here you found your way here on your own. You had no help from a soul reaper, correct?"

I looked up at him, the only thing I could do.

"Speak up, boy." he commanded.

_I can not._ I ushered to him.

"Yes, you can. All that has happened to you in your last life does not effect you now. This is your new life in the Soul Society. Speak up, boy."

" I c-came on my o-own..." I struggled to say. I COULD speak.

"What a strong boy." he said, returning to his paper. "Proceed to my right, your left." he pointed. He folded the paper and handed it to me. I moved onward in the direction he indicated.

I walked for a long time, following the others that went this way before me. And stopped in another line, this one shorter and quicker than the last.

This receptionist was a women. she wore a white veil over her golden curls. She spoke with an honest and sincere voice.

"Paper, please."

"Yes, ma'am." I said and handed it to her.

She opened it and read it over quickly. "You made it here on your own?" she sounded as surprised as the man before.

"Yes, I followed the path." I said to her.

"My, aren't you a strong young man," she said gingerly, "but if I may ask, why are you crying, child?"

Was I crying?

"I'm afraid I do not know why, ma'am. Perhaps, I am afraid." I said quietly.

She knelt down to me and whispered in my ear. "Are you strong enough to fend for yourself, weeping child?"

"Yes, I am." I said back.

"Good." she said. "Now, do you see that chain on your chest?"

I looked down and, as she had said, a chain hung from my chest.

"That is your chain of fate." she said in a serious, yet still beautiful, voice. "Notice that it has been severed, hence ending your life in the human world. You can never go back to your last life. After you pass this point you will move on to the Soul Society, where your new life will begin. However, your chain will need to be removed. This process is painful, but necessary to gain entrance. Have I lost you, child?"

"No, I follow what you are saying." I said. "How is it removed?"

She lifted her hand to her waist, where she drew her sword from her sheath. The blade itself was nothing but light. "Are you ready for a new beginning, for your new life?"

"Yes." I said and closed my wet eyes. A flash of pain struck me in the chest, but as quick it came, it had disappeared. My eyes opened.

"Welcome to the Soul Society, Toshiro Hitsugaya. May your strength never fail you. Good luck."

The light grew brighter.

And she was gone.

_Aiko-love-Anime speaks_

Hi, so as promised here is chapter 2. I hope you liked it. Chapter 3 should be up soon. Please keep commenting, I like feed back, it motivates me to write faster. Thanks again. ~ Aiko-love-Anime


	3. Chapter 3 The Winter Meets The Spring

Hey! Aiko-love-Anime here! Thanks for the interest in my story! ;) If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear. ~ Aiko-love-Anime

**I DO NOT OWN BLEACH!**

Chapter 3- The Frozen Winter Meets the Warm Spring

The light dimmed and I found myself at the gate of, what looked to be, a run-down village.

The gatekeeper was a well-built man, no, a collosal beast holding a battle ax. He said nothing, but lifted his hand, ushering me to hand him my paper. I did so and he took it, read it over, and grunted.

He lifted his ax and said several short, quick sentences. "Enter Soul Society, Toshiro Histugaya. Find family. Find house. Survive."

With that my paper turned to light and entered my body where my chain once hung.

I walked in and his battle ax lowered behind me, making escape impossible. I kept walking. The entrance to the village was also the main road through it, so I jusst kept on straight.

People eyed me and whispered amongst themselves.

"Fresh meat." I heared someone say.

"Hehe, he's got good clothes."

"Nah, they're rags."

"Look at him! He's bawling!"

"Ha, he won't last a week."

I tried to ignore them, but some of those things were true. I was crying, but it wasn't my fault. I had lost my ability to control my tears a long time ago.

I kept walking, what else was I supposed to do?

_Find, family. Find house. Survive._ The gatekeeper's voice rang in my ears.

_Find family? Did I have any? _I stopped walking. _Did_ I have any family? Would I be able to find them if I did? Would I know them if I saw them? Would they know me if they saw me? These thoughts quickly passed through my mind, but were chased away by the sound of footsteps.

Some of those people had begun to follow me. I could not ignore them any longer.

"Hey, newbie," one guy called, "where you think you're going?"

I turned to walk away, but another grabbed me by the arms. "Hey don't disrespect our leader like that, kid. Unless you wanna die."

He smiled.

"I'm already dead, you idiot. Let go of me!" I squirmed, but he only laughed.

"Ha, you guys!" he shouted to the others," This guy ain't got no idea 'bout how the Soul Society works. He thinks he can't die here."

They all began to laugh like a pack of hyenas.

"Listen up, kid. This life is just like the last, you can get hurt and die here. All 'a that crap your parents told ya 'bout 'heaven' and 'the other side' and how 'it's so much better' was a lie."

"So, are you gonna kill me?" I said defiantly, looking him dead in the eyes.

He smirked and smashed his head down onto mine. It was incredibly painful, but did not seem to even phase him. I began to feel dizzy.

"Depends, you gonna hand that jacket 'a yours over 'er am I gonna hafta beat it off ya?" His grip on my arms grew tighter. He was nearly crushing my arms.

I let out a yell of pain, he smiled.

"Aww, poor baby can't take a wittle pain." he mocked.

I kicked and squirmed and trying to break his grasp on me. I put every bit of strength I had into one kick and I thrust myself backwards. BAM. Right where the sun don't shine.

My attacker let out a wail of pain and fell to his knees, hands between his legs.

"That damn, lil' shit!" he shouted.

I tried to run, but as soon as I had been freed, several others grabbed ahold of me and began to beat me mercilessly. They forced me to the ground with such force that I nearly passed out. They hit me over and over repeatedly punching and kicking from all directions. Blood and dirt began to cover my entire body. Someone punched me straight in the gut, and I lost my breath as I heard three distinctive cracks.

They continued to beat me as I screamed for help. They ripped at my clothes and stole them off of me. After they took what they wanted they kicked my helpless body over and over. Blood fell down my face and into my eyes.

"Learn your place, kid!" someone shouted. "You're in Junrinan in the Eightyth District of West Rukongai now!" I felt a sudden pain on my shoulder and another plunged through my chest.

_Swords! They have swords! They are going to kill me!_

I closed my eyes as a blade was pressed against my neck. My tears fell harder and harder, unable to stop. _I_ was going to die again. where would I go after this? Do I simply disappear? Isn't there something I was supposed to do? Someone I needed to find?

My father's imaged flashed befor my closed eyes. And I remembered. He had died when the house collapsed in on him.

My eyes flashed open.

I did have someone I needed to find! I could not give up now! But whether I give up or not, this man is going to slit my throat. Father I needed to find him. Please, please! Anyone save me!

The man lifted his sword high above him, preparing to strike me.

_It's over._ I had given up hope. The end was near, I could feel it. I dropped my head, I no longer could see anything. _It's over._

With all his force he brought his sword down down aiming for my vulnerable neck.

_It's all over. _I'm sorry father, I could not see you again.

BAM.

Something had hit the ground with great force...but it was not me. I slowly opened my eyes.

Standing before me was a girl a couple years older than I, dressed in rags, and old shoulder cape hung over her meek stature. She was armed only with a tree branch.

The man that was sure to have killed me lay on the ground, now unconscious, behind me. _Had she really hit hime hard enough to knock him out cold?_

"All of you better stop picking on the new arrivals!" she said in a strong, I'm-in-control tone. "They don't have a chance if you kill them right away. And I won't forgive anyone the kills another person!"

She began beating off the rest rabbid beasts of men that had attacked me. I would have helped, if only I could have moved. She did not need help, though. Even against the men with swords she faired fine. she was quick and agile and before I knew it, half the men were beaten unconscious, while the other half retreated.

"Y'all best not ever bug him again!" she shouted after them. She threw the branch aside and turned to me. Her expression softened. "They got you pretty good, didn't they?"

"Y-yeah..." I said, scarcely abled to breathe, both because of pain and tears.

"Well, you need to stop cryin'!" she returned to her 'I'm-in-control' voice. "I had to save your sorry ass, 'cuz you were bawlin' in one of the worst parts of the Soul Society! Cryin' makes you look weak! And if you don't stop, you're gonna get jumped again!"

"I'm s-sorry!" I cringed.

"Just get stronger!" she yelled, then her voice softened, "because I can't have a weak crybaby, watch my back."

I looked up at her, and she smiled. "What'd ya say? You watch my back, and I'll watch your's?"

She outstretched her hand to me, and I took it. She helped me to my feet.

"It's a deal." I said.

"Good." she said, and looked at me again. "My god, kid, they stole everythin' off you." She finally realized that I had been stripped and my clothing had been taken with the men that had run away.

"Well then, I got your back." she said, untying her cape. She pulled it around my waist and retied it. "And apparently, I have your ass, too." She smiled.

We laughed, but only for a split second when my injuries began to hurt. Those beasts had broken several of my ribs, and possibly my arm.

"Come on, grandma will help you. She's good at fixing injuries." she took my arm over her shoulder and we walked slowly deeper into the Soul Society.

"I-I never g-got your name." I stammered.

"Momo Hinamori." she said cheerfully.

"Somehow that doesn't suit you." I joked.

"What about you, what's your name?" she asked.

"Toshiro Hitsugaya." I breathed.

"Okay, Toshiro. From today on, you and I are gonna have each others backs no matter what."

"Yeah." I breathed again. Then I looked up at her, "Momo..."

"Yes, Toshiro-kun?"

"My father died a little while ago..." I dropped my gaze, "do you think he's here?"

Her gaze softened and she looked like she was going to cry. "It's hard to say, Toshiro. You are send to one of the 320 districts here in the Soul Society. 80 districts are in each direction: north, east, south, and west. Everyone is sent to a different district by order of death, we are currently in the farthest west district, West District 80. This district is definately not the best, but it's not the worst either. There's a couple districts where it's almost impossible to survive." By this point she was looking down, too. "So, there is really no way of knowing where he is."

"I see." I said softly. Then I looked up. "But, I am going to find him." Another memory flashed over my eyes. No, the same memory from before, but more in depth.

My father running into the building, but now, I could see why. That girl, the one I had forgotten. _She_ was inside. _She_ was the reason my father died. _She_ is the reason I'm dead. _She_ is to blame. _Her_ fault._Her_ fault. It's all _her_ fault!

The memory ended and I came back to reality. Momo was bent over me, looking concered. I must have fallen from her shoulder, because I was on the ground again.

"Tosiro, are you okay?"

"No, that _girl_..." I said, clenching my fists full of dirt, "that girl is the reason my father is dead. It's all her fault!" I cried out in anger. I did not have the strength, but I still cried. "She will pay! She will pay!"

Momo stood silent for a moment, then spoke softly, "It's best to let your anger go, Toshiro."

"Never!" I shouted.

She grabbed me by the shoulders. "If you live off of anger here, you won't live very long!" she shouted back. "You need to let it go! The past is the past."

"I will _never_ let it go!" I shouted, "It's all her fault that..." I trailed off, tears streaming down my face.

"You don't have to tell me. If you want to, I'll be there ready to listen, but right now we have to get home." she said and outstretched her hand once more. "Let's go, Toshiro." she smiled.

That image of her remained with me forever.

"Yeah." I said taking her hand. It was warm and tender. Compared to my rough bloodied hand, it was like the touch of an angel.

I had been in the cold so long, I had forgotten what warm felt like. Maybe Momo was the Sping sun that would melt away my long, cold winter.

"Hey, Toshiro. You stopped crying."

"Yeah, I guess I have."

"Well, let's keep moving. West District 1 is still a long way to go."

"Yeah. Let's go."

* * *

><p>_Aiko-love-Anime speaks _<p>

Thanks for reading! This chapter was a whole lot longer than the last two. It took an extra day to write! Anyway hope you liked! Comments and suggestions welcome and encouraged! Please review. ~ Aiko-love-Anime


	4. Chapter 4 The Strong Will Be Broken

This chapter took a whole lot longer to finish than I thought. I hate finals XD. Well, summer's almost here and that means more time to write. Sorry for the wait, but there are three chapter (including this one) that are completed and on the way. Thanks for reading. ~Aiko-love-Anime

I do _**NOT**_ own Bleach.

Chapter 4- The Strong Will Be Broken

We walked for a long, long time. The villages turned into small towns, and eventually into busiling cities. The people were nicer, kinder. We kept walking.

A month passed. My wounds had completely healed. We arrived in West District 1, unhurt, unfazed, and walking, as if nothing was ever wrong.

Momo ducked behind a tree, just before we entered the town, and changed into a much more respectable attire.

"Sorry I don't have any clothes for you, Toshiro." she said softly as she combed her hair and put it into pigtails. "Grandma probably has something you can wear."

"Okay." I said as I rested against the opposite side of the tree.

"Let's go." she said as she came out of the brush.

We entered the District and I felt every pair of eyes turn to me. I was getting paranoid. They were whispering about me, just like the people in District 80. They weren't laughing at me, and every time I caught them looking at me, they quickly looked away.

_Are they afraid of me?_

"Toshiro, just ignore them." Momo said, and she squeezed my hand. "They are just afraid of you, because you are from a poorer district."

"Okay." I said softly and squeezed her hand.

We walked down the long, very clean road. It was the most well-kept road we had been on the entire trip. District 1 was definately the best in all the West.

"Here, Toshiro." Momo said and pulled me into one of the houses.

We entered the house and we were welcomed by an elderly woman. She had gray hair and was wisened by the wrinkles that framed her face. Kind eyes looked back at me.

"And who might this be, Momo?" she asked calmly.

"This is Toshiro Hitsugaya. I found him getting beaten up in District 80. He wouldn't be able to survive there so I brought him back with me." Momo explained.

"So you did go out there, again." she said. "Good job." she petted Momo's head affectionately, and she smiled. Then Momo turned and looked at me, then turned back to her grandmother.

"Granny, do you have anything Toshiro-kun can wear?"

"Let me check." she said and went into the back room.

"Don't worry Granny is really kind." Momo said kindly.

"Yeah, she is a very caring person, you are lucky to have her as your grandmother. You are lucky to have found family, at all." I said looking down.

"You're misunderstanding, Toshiro. She isn't my real grandmother." Momo said quickly. "Here in the Soul Society families are seperated most of the time. So we create our own families. Get it, now?"

"Yeah." I said looking up.

Her grandmother walked back in with a piece of clothing in one hand and a medical bag in the other.

"Before we get you dressed, let me take a look at your injuries." she said sweetly.

"But, I'm all healed." I said.

"I'd beg to differ, you must be aching all over if you were as hurt as Momo says you were." she said.

Now that she mentioned it, I did feel quite sore all over.

"You're right." I said clutching my ribs that were previously broken.

"That's not a good sign," she said "let's take a look at you. Please lay down."

I did as she said, and she began by checking the movement of my joints. To my surprise, it hurt a lot more than I thought. She continued feeling where my bones were broken. The look on he rface did not look pleased.

"Toshiro, was it?" she asked.

I nodded.

"Toshiro, I'm afraid your bones didn't set properly. If you want to stop all of this pain you are in, they will have to be rebroken."

I gulped.

"Okay."

"Momo, go get some cold water and rags to calm down the pain."

"Yes, ma'am." she said quickly. She got up and rant into the back room.

"Are you ready, Toshiro?" Granny asked.

I took a deep breath.

"Yeah."

Rebreaking my bones took hours, it was so painful. My tears would not stop. I guess my screaming got the better of Momo, but she never left my side.

When it was all over, I fell asleep exhausted from the pain.

I had a nightmare. It began at my house in the human world. It was the day my dad died, then the day I died. After that it was a blurry mess, several figures were in my sight, and they were talking, but their voices were mashed together.

Momo flashed before my eyes, she was smiling. It all went dark and she flashed before me again, soaked in blood. Her eyes were filled with betrayal and tears.

"Histugaya..." she said.

My wet eyes flashed open, tears had streamed down my face in my sleep.

Momo, laying in her bed beside mine, was screaming in her sleep. Granny woke her up and calmly held her until she came back to reality.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Y-yeah." she said adverting her eyes from me.

"What was your nightmare about?"

"I-it's nothing, it just scared me in my sleep. Now that I'm awake I realize it isn't so scary." she said.

"Okay." I said. I tried to hold her hand to comfort her, but he moment I lifted my hand a shock of pain went straight through my entire body. I shouted in pain.

Momo jumped from Granny's lap to my side.

"Don't move too much Toshiro, your bones haven't set yet, and you will be in a lot of pain if you move."

"O-okay." I said through the pain. "How long will it take for me to heal completely?"

"Three days. On the fourth day, you will be all better." she said kindly, and smiled.

"Okay." I said and faded back into sleep.

I couldn't move at all that day. Momo helped me with the necessities. She changed my clothes, and fed me. And becuase I couldn't sit up or walk, she even brought me a bedpan, much to her embarrassment, and mine.

But she never complained. She was always gentle when she moved me and it barely hurt at all. She was always smiling.

When night fell, I fell asleep, as tired as the day before. My nightmare continued, the blury visions of people, Momo smiling, adn then soaked in blood. She would always whisper my name, and I would wake up.

I would wake up to find Momo screaming in her sleep. Like the day before, she refused to tell me what her nightmare was about.

On the second day, I could do basic movements. I could sit up and walk a bit. I still couldn't lift my arms above my shoulders so Momo still helped me change, but I could do most everything else on my own. I couldn't get very far in my condition, so I felt like I was depending on them. It began to feel like I was imposing.

I remember that night, I woke up from my dream halfway through. To my surprise Momo wasn't screaming in her sleep. She was resting peacefully.

"Histugaya..." she said softly.

_Just like in my dream!_

She began to scream. Granny woke her up and calmed her down once more. That's when I began to suspect that her nightmares were about me. That was another reason why I needed to go.

The third day was painless, and I could do everything I needed to do on my own. My feelings of imposing only grew stronger now that I could help them, but they refused say I wasn't completely healed.

I began to wonder where my father was. I pondered all day, just how long it would take to find him. I never came up with an answer.

Like before my nightmare played through my head that night and ended the same way.

I would wake up to Moom screaming again. Granny would calm her down. No matter what I'd say, Momo would never tell me what her nightmare was about.

But I already knew.

I was giving her nightmares, and now that I was healed, I needed to leave. I needed to find my father. It was time to go.

As soon as Granny calmed Momo down, I was out the door.

Momo chased after me.

"Toshiro, you don't have to leave! Please stay!" she begged.

"I need to go." I said, walking away.

"I thought you had my back." she said suddenly, and I stopped. "You know you don't have to run away on your own. You can be part of our family. And then, you and I..." she looked up tears in her eyes, "we can find your dad together."

"How did you..."

"I knew that was the reason." she said wiping the tears from her eyes.

Tears fell down my cheeks, and out of nowhere, Momo hugged me. I stood there in her arms and cried for a long time.

I don't remember ever giving her an answer, but I know I never left.

Time passed us by quickly. Momo taught me how to fight, among other things, so we could go to the poorer districts to help out. We started slowly at West District 20, which wasn't all that bad, but still had it's poorer side of town. After several trips, slowly maiking our way deeper into the West, I grew confident in Momo's guidance. She always had my back, and she could fend for herself at the same time.

However, one day everthing changed.

We were on a routine trip to District 80, when we got into a fight with leading gang of the district. There were so many people attacking us all at once, but we were fighting them off, I was confident in myself, and knew Momo was the strongest person I know.

Until Momo was stabbed through from behind with a sword.

She fell to the ground agonizingly slow, and a pool of blood formed under her.

She was the strongest person I'd ever known. whether fighting off a band of thugs in District 80, or caring for Granny in District 1, she was always strong of heart, body, soul, and mind.

...so why?

With every ounce of my strength I beat off the crowd of men attacking me and proceede to those attacking her.

After they were gone I fell to her side, tears streaming down my face.

"What are you blubbering about?" she said as her eyes opened slowly.

"You got hurt." I said wiping my eyes.

"Y-yeah..." she stuttered from the pain. "Now you are protecting me. Oh, how the roles have been reversed." she gave a small laugh, but cringed in pain.

"You're going to be okay, Hinamori." I said through my tears.

"I know," she said confidently, "because Shiro-chan is protecting me."

I looked at her pained eyes, she truly believed I would protect her.

"Shiro-chan." she spoke softly.

"Yes?"

"Would it be okay, if from now on **I** can lean on **you** when I need help or protection?" she asked slowly.

"Yes. I will always be there for you."

"Then can you help me home? I can't move." she smiled.

"Yeah."

After that incident, Momo becam more dependant on me. She became a much more mellow person, she wasn't as fierce as when I first met her. She was gentler. And I became stronger to protect her, I nearly stopped crying altogether. It was as if I froze my tears inside so they couldn't escape.

Momo may have calmed her radical personality, but...

She was still the strongest person I'd ever known.

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><p>Hope you all liked the chapter. Chapter 4 and 5 were actually one big chapter, but I decided to break it into two, because it kind of dragged on and on. Oh well, *sigh* chapter 5 is a decent sized chapter so look forward to it. Thanks for reading, please comment cuz I LOVE feedback. ~Aiko-love-Anime<p> 


	5. Chapter 5 The Melancholic Spring

Yay! Two uploads in one day! Let's shoot for all three chapters I have written. Thanks for reading. Please comment on things you like or dislike. I LOVE to here how people feel about my story. ~Aiko-love-Anime

I _**do not own Bleach**_!

Chapter 5- The Melancholic Spring

We passed our days hopping from district to district, looking for my father, and helping the needy neighborhoods.

Nights after the incident were the same as before, nightmares. But they were worse for Momo. Her nightmares worsened and streesed her body. About a month after the incident, she began wetting the bed.

I teased her about it, somehow it help me cope with the fact that I was at fault.

Time passed quickly and before we knew it a thousand years had gone by. But we never gave up looking for my father. District after district after district we searched thoroughly, but we never found him. We had check all the West Districts, all the South Districts, and 19 of the North Districts, when Momo and I decided to take a break.

It was one of the days between trips that Momo began to look longingly out the window. Over the years she began to stay at the window longer, and began to linger as we left for a different district. The years of the "same old thing" began to give her a feeling of melancholy.

"Toshiro, do you ever wonder about the Soul Reaper Academy?" she asked when I checked on her.

"Not really, why?" I answered

_What happened to helping me find my dad?_

"Probably. You're smart, and I think you have some spiritual pressure."

"Should I apply?" she asked turning to me.

_No. You mad a promise, what are you doing?_

"Yes."

_What am I doing?_

"Do you really think I could get in?" she asked seriously, and looked at me.

"Yeah, you are smart and talented. You could easily get in." I told her confidently.

"Then I'm going to apply right now!" she said hopping up and walking out the door. "But are you okay with it, Shiro-chan?"

"Yes. Now get your bed-wetting butt down to the school and apply already!" I said mocking her.

"Shiro!" she shouted, but smiled. "Why don't you apply, too?"

"No, it's not my kind of place. Besides, I have to keep looking for my father."

"Okay." she said, and left.

Soon after applying Momo took the exam and passed with flying colors. She began attending classes and for the most part, I hardly ever saw her, she barely came home. However, one day during her first year, she came home and told us about the academy.

"I've made lots of friends at the academy. A lot of them are in my class. They all have the potential to be high ranking soul reapers someday." she smiled happily.

She was alway enthusiastic about anything and everything that had something to do with the academy. She was in the advance class, and was very good at kido.

She told us the story about how she was nearly killed on a practice mission in the Human World. She told us that she was saved by the Fifth Division's captain, Aizen, and his Lieutenant Gin Ichimaru. She idolized him, but something about him, just the sound of his name, rubbed me the wrong way. Momo joked that it was jealousy, but that didn't sound right.

Years passed and Momo visited here and there, but I had pretty much given up looking for my father until she finished school.

While she was gone I felt something born deep within me, or rather it was there all along, but it had grown stronger. I couldn't find out what it was.

My dreams of Hinamori and the blury figures subsided while she was gone. In their absence, I began to dream of an icy plain that stretched out tirelessly to the horizon, never ending.

At the same time of these dreams Granny began getting ill. I couldn't figure out why.

Night after night for months the same endless plain of ice haunted my dreams, but one night was different.

There was a presense in my dream, as if someone else was on the plain of ice with me. And suddenly, a giant dragon of ice stood before me, it's power was overwhelming. He was speaking to me, but I could not hear him.

I wake up and found a tall, blonde soul reaper looming over me.

"You should hide your spiritual pressure when you sleep." she said.

"Who're y-"

"You're grandmother will freeze if you don't."

I looked and saw Granny laying under a layer of frost, shivering.

"You should become a soul reaper to control your abilities." she said.

"What are you..."

"You can hear a voice inside you, am I right?" she asked.

"Yes."

"It's calling out to you and soon, you'll learn its name. That is your zanpakto spirit. You need to become a soul reaper."

I don't remember much after that, but I do remember apologizing to Granny and applying for the Soul Reaper Academy's entrance exam.

I remember the test being very easy.

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><p>Ah, finally done the chapter. Chapter six will be up tomarrow. Please comment. Thanks for all the interest in this story it's becoming really fun to write. ~Aiko-love-Anime<p> 


	6. Chapter 6 Weary of the Spring

Chapter six as promised! Wow, I'm already a third finished with this story (well if you count chapters 4 and 5 as one like it they were supposed to be). I'm excited, but I wonder if I'm keeping them true to their character. Momo was originally supposed to be a brut-ish girl than soften after she got hurt so she would act like the Momo from the actual Bleach series. Hitsugaya's a really hard character to work with. GRR... *sigh* Well now that I've ranted you probably want the story now soooo...Bye. ~Aiko-love-Anime

I **DO NOT OWN BLEACH!**

**Chapter 6- Weary of the Spring**

The Soul Reaper Academy curriculum came natural to me. I excelled in every class, so much so I was called a child prodigy.

As Rangiku (the soul reaper that brought me to the academy) said, I easily called upon my zanpakto Hyorinmaru, and graduated all within a few short years.

Calling upon and using Hyorinmaru came natural to me aswell. It was as natural as breathing, breathing the cold winter air back at my home in the Human World. Maybe, that was why it was so easy. He was an ice and snow zanpakto, things I had lived with, clung to, and liked.

I liked the snow.

* * *

><p>My first mission as a soul reaper was one I will never forget. It was a soul burial, my mother's soul burial.<p>

At first she thought she was halucinating, but after she calmed down, she smiled. She was flad that I was doing okay, it had been a decade since I died in the Human World. That's when I learned time in the Soul Society and time in the Human World passed differently. Although time passes a hundred times faster in the Soul Society, you still age at the pace you did in the Human World.

My mother was sent to the Soul Society, my wish that she could reunite with my father. I'll never forget the face she gave me, she was proud and happy, but sad that we had to part once more.

She had missed me for ten years. I can not even imagine the pain she must have gone through all alone for such a long amount of time (in Human World time). Those year had not been kind to her, although she was only in her early forties, her hair had already begun to turn gray, bags had formed under her eyes, and her face had a few wrinkles aswell.

But she was still my beautiful mother, the last person I saw before I died. How I wanted to hold her like I used to, but I denied my urges and kept my cool. Before long, I had to send her on her journey, and we had to part ways.

Her teary eyes closed as she sadly said goodbye, and disappeared into the Soul Society. I could only hope she made it to a good district.

* * *

><p>Though I started at low status, as all new soul reapers do, I quickly rose through the ranks and became a Captain, surpassing Momo, and becoming none other than, Rangiku's superior.<p>

The higher I was promoted, the more I began to see the evil in Captain Aizen. Despite my warnings, Momo would not stay away from him, and went so far as to work tirelessly to become his Lieutenant and secure her spot at his side.

I don't think it was that she was foolish, but that he had hid his evil inetentions well from her.

And I stood there in the courtroom as Aizen was tried for suspicion of treatury.

It wasn't what he did that caused the suspicion for me to hate, no despise Aizen. No, it was what he did after our suspicions were verified.

I knew he was evil, I never knew he was _that_ evil.

* * *

><p>Wow. .short. Oh, well. *sigh* We're finally going to get to the good part soon YAY! Please comment on what you like or dislike the most. I like discussing my stories with others. THANK YOU FOR READING! ~Aiko-love-Anime<p> 


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